When Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Resolving Boundary and Easement Disputes Affecting Georgia Businesses

A commercial property line rarely announces itself with fanfare. It shows up on a survey, in a deed from decades ago, or in a fence that someone’s predecessor put up without asking anyone’s permission. Then one day a new owner builds a loading dock, a competitor’s delivery trucks start cutting across a shared driveway, or a neighboring business claims the parking spots your customers have used for fifteen years. Suddenly a quiet property line is a live dispute, and it is costing you time, customers, and peace of mind.

Boundary and easement conflicts are among the most common, and most avoidable, legal headaches facing Georgia business owners. Unlike a contract dispute with a clear beginning and end, these conflicts often simmer for years before anyone calls a lawyer, which means the facts on the ground can matter as much as the paper in the file.

How Georgia Law Treats a Disputed Boundary

Georgia does not require a boundary line to match a survey down to the inch in order to be legally binding. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-4-6, a boundary that is uncertain or unascertained can be established either by an oral agreement paired with actual possession, or through seven years of acquiescence by the adjoining owners. In plain terms, if two businesses have treated a fence, a curb line, or a row of hedges as the property line for seven years without objection, courts can treat that line as the real one, regardless of what an old plat says.

This matters enormously for commercial property, where fences get moved for construction, parking lots get repaved past the original lot line, and nobody thinks to check a deed before doing it. A business that assumes its glossy survey will automatically override decades of practical use on the ground may be surprised in litigation.

When the Dispute Is About Access, Not Acreage

Not every property fight is about square footage. Many involve easements, the legal right to use another person’s land for a specific purpose such as a shared driveway, a utility line, or delivery access. Georgia recognizes several ways an easement can arise, including by express grant, by prescription through seven years of uninterrupted use, or by necessity when a landlocked parcel has no other way to reach a public road, as set out in O.C.G.A. § 44-9-1.

Easement disputes tend to surface at the worst possible moment for a business, often when:

• A shared access road is blocked or narrowed by new construction next door
• A neighboring owner installs a gate or barrier across a long-used delivery route
• A utility easement conflicts with plans for an expansion or new signage
• A tenant’s customers are accused of trespassing on what turns out to be a shared right of way
• A sale or refinance stalls because title work uncovers an undocumented access arrangement

Why These Disputes Hit Businesses Differently

For a homeowner, a boundary dispute might mean an awkward conversation over a fence line. For a business, it can mean blocked deliveries, lost parking for customers, stalled construction, or a deal that falls apart during due diligence. Commercial leases and financing agreements often contain representations about clear title and unobstructed access, so an unresolved boundary or easement problem can ripple into obligations well beyond the property line itself.

Resolving these matters usually starts with a careful title and survey review, followed by an honest look at how the property has actually been used over time, since that history can override what the paperwork says. Many disputes settle through negotiated easement agreements or boundary line agreements recorded with the county, avoiding the cost and uncertainty of a courtroom fight. When negotiation fails, however, a business needs counsel ready to litigate the issue and protect its operations in the meantime.

Property conflicts rarely resolve themselves, and waiting to address one can quietly erode a business’s rights through the very acquiescence the law recognizes. As Atlanta business litigation attorneys, we have guided commercial clients through boundary disputes, contested easements, and the practical fallout both can create. If your business is facing a property line disagreement or an access dispute with a neighboring owner, The Forsythe Law Firm, LLC can review your situation and help chart a path forward. We invite you to reach out to discuss the details of your case.